Thursday, 9 August 2018

Boxy

It's taken quite some time but Boxy by Joji Locatelli is finally finished.

I cast this on for Eleanor right at the beginning of the year on the 1st of January. It's taken quite a while to get it finished but in my defence, there have been periods when I haven't picked it up to work on at all for weeks at a time, and periods when I've been waiting for Eleanor to come home from university to try it on before continuing on the knitting.

It's quite a big undertaking though, there were nearly 400 stitches on the needles and as it's knit in 4 ply, or fingering weight yarn, it grows very slowly. A boxy style which is knit in stocking stitch, it's a great project for TV knitting or for working on whilst chatting as you really don't have to concentrate on it.

Eleanor chose which colour she liked from the Drops Baby Merino range and I think she made a good choice. This is Light Grey.

I've got a couple of gripes about the sweater, the first being the hem. It tends to curl upwards and I was worried the whole time that I was knitting the sweater that it would curl when being worn. I knew about this problem before I started the sweater so I knit double the amount of rib that the pattern instructed and this, along with a good blocking, has just about cured the issue but many people have highlighted this problem in their notes on Ravelry so I'm surprised that the designer hasn't looked at this and solved the issue. The second gripe is my own fault. There's a bit of an issue to the side of the neckline where I picked up stitches and though I knew about it after a couple of rows, I couldn't be bothered taking it back as I just wanted the sweater finished by this point. It's only a little untidiness and when I showed Eleanor she didn't know what I was fussing about, and to be honest, it's much less noticeable now that the sweater has been blocked.

I like the yarn I've used, Drops Baby Merino is really soft, it was nice to knit with and has made a lovely drapey fabric but I think it will be prone to pilling, time will tell.

I'm pleased to have finally finished this project, I like the finished garment, I think it really suits Eleanor and Eleanor's very happy with it.

What a very lovely model, your knitting looks perfect, it's so easy to have a twisted or split stitch just where it shows, stocking stitch in a light colour can be very unforgiving. I love the weight of 4ply, but all those stitches on each row.

I've just had a look at All The Love and I really like it. I see it's a similar boxy style but with some added patterning, I bet it's easy to make a mistake. I'm really pleased how the sweater looks on Eleanor.

What a lovely sweater, looks very good when worn no wonder Eleanor was pleased, but what a lot of stitches to cope with, quite a marathon in 4 ply too. Such a sense of achievement when you finally finish a large project xcx

I think it's a lovely style and will be comfortable to wear. There were a lot of stitches on the needle but I don't think you notice them when knit in the round as much as you would on straight needles.

Gorgeous sweater - the drapiness is lovely! I've finally finished all the pieces of the sweater that I've been knitting but they have to be blocked before I sew them together, which I've sort of been procrastinating on. Hopefully I'll get to it by months end.

I worried so much about the hem when I was knitting it. It would be better to have no ribbing at all and just let it be a rolled hem than have it actually flipping up on itself, but I think knitting extra and the blocking has solved the problem.

Oh goodness, 400 sts? Wowzers, that is an awful lot! I have to say, it does look really good though and your daughter wears it so well. I hope it feels worth it in the end... or at least, hopefully it will once you've had a chance to forget how long it took! ;)

400 stitches is a lot but I don't think you notice them in the round so much as you would if you were knitting back and forth. I enjoyed knitting it, it did take some time but I just picked it up as and when I felt like it and that way I didn't feel under pressure to get it finished. It looks better than I expected it to and I do think I'd knit it again.

About Me

Thank you for visiting. I'm Jo, fifty and happily married with two grown up children and a dog called Archie. Take a peek Through The Keyhole into my home on the outskirts of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Here you'll see a little of what I get up to on my crafty adventures as well as snippets of family life. I hope you enjoy reading along.